# Is Cat 5e ethernet wiring still current? Do I need to rewire the house?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cat-5e-ethernet-wiring-still-current-do-i-need-to-rewire-the-house/954722>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 21, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cat-5e-ethernet-wiring-still-current-do-i-need-to-rewire-the-house/954722 "2021-11-21T16:29:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cat-5e-ethernet-wiring-still-current-do-i-need-to-rewire-the-house/954722/21 "2021-11-23T12:32:08Z")

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You can buy a more up to date cable to test it, see if it makes a difference, just run it directly for the test, across the floor, down the stairs under the door type of run. I doubt you will notice any difference but it will be much cheaper/faster then running ‘correctly’ for no gain.

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cat-5e-ethernet-wiring-still-current-do-i-need-to-rewire-the-house/954722/22 "2021-11-23T22:47:35Z")

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> [@The\_Librarian](#):
>
> Do you have any equipment with ports that would benefit from faster connections than 1Gbps?

No, I don’t think so. At least, not today. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? How many years should I plan ahead for?

No more than 20.

But other than that?

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**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cat-5e-ethernet-wiring-still-current-do-i-need-to-rewire-the-house/954722/23 "2021-11-23T23:23:01Z")

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A rough number for bandwidth for 4k video is ~32Mbps. (just as a reverence)

If you are not editing raw video\* (which involves manipulating large files) on multiple machines with a NAS to share the files: you will most likely never notice anything.

\*Or working on CAD drawing from multiple workstations, or doing something other very specific that will benefit from very fast file sharing. When that becomes an issue you could always replace a particular run of cable. You and me will be long gone when 1 Gbps is no longer fast enough for general connectivity (if ever)

Worry about latency; optimizing DNS – bandwidth is no longer an important metric (when you get to ~1Gbps)

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